


Flying, Not Falling

by sunaddicted



Series: The way you said "I love you" [9]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Diving, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Other, Relationship Study, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22177729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunaddicted/pseuds/sunaddicted
Summary: They slipped into the waves, the crash of their bodies against the water insignificant compared to the thundering song of the sea.
Relationships: Beelzebub/Gabriel (Good Omens)
Series: The way you said "I love you" [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1573432
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Flying, Not Falling

**Author's Note:**

> "before we jump"

_Flying, Not Falling_

Beelzebub watched Gabriel take another dive off of the cliff, body as relaxed as if he had been jogging rather than purposefully hurling himself down a steep rock face and into the deep blue sea, where he would be at the mercy of waves. Of course Gabriel didn't need to breathe and his corporation was strong and exercised enough that swimming back to shore would have been easy for him - he couldn't die either, not really: even if a wave crashed his skull open against a rock, it wouldn't take Upstairs more than a couple of days to issue the archangel Gabriel with another corporation. 

Still, Beelzebub thought it was unnecessarily risky and after glaring at Gabriel's first invitation to join him, they had stubbornly rooted themself to the beach towel that refused to stay clean of the sand and had watched every jump with anxiety gnawing at their insides - if they hadn't known better about the correlations between one's feelings and body, Beelzebub would have thought Hell had discovered their relationship with the archangel and found a way to subtly torture them.

Hell didn't know anything, of course: if there was something Beelzebub prided themself on, it was their meticulousness; they didn't leave behind any traces and if that meant there was no way they could keep even the smallest memento of their lover, they had learnt to make their peace with it - their safety was far too important to endanger for something as silly as leaving a mark behind or carrying to their office an offensively nice scarf. 

"Are you really sure you don't want to try?"

Beelzebub sniffed at the question, drawing their knees to their chest and if Gabriel read that as a sign of closure... well, good - they didn't intend to change their mind "I said no. And stop flying back to the top of the cliff, someone is bound to see you" and if someone did, then there would need to get damage control done which meant at least one angel snooping where Beelzebub absolutely didn't want them to.

Gabriel let himself fall next to the demon, tugging at a corner of the towel so that he could stretch it towards his face and swipe away the drop of water before the salt in them had the time to crystallize on his skin "I check every time before flying back up"

"Oh yes, your incorporated radar works so well"

"Oi, what's with the mean and passive aggressive sarcasm?" By then, he knew better to attribute it to Beelzebub just being mean; Gabriel had found that the demon prince preferred reverting to cutting words and defence stances before they finally opted for opening up - it had taken him a while to understand but now that he did, Gabriel always was relentless in trying to find out what exactly was hurting or bothering Beelzebub "Is this about asking you to take a dive? Because I've been checking in about whether you've changed your mind just because I think it could be something you'd like" they usually enjoyed being reckless, having their tiny corporation burst at the seams with adrenaline. 

"How can you think I would enjoy that" Beelzebub's voice was flat in an attempt at keeping the buzzing at bay - it also made them seem a lot angrier than they were and they didn't want Gabriel to think he had fucked up too badly.

"It's risky, exhilarating, pointlessly fun..."

"It's a fall"

A fall.

 _The Fall_.

Beelzebub hadn't needed to capitalize the word for Gabriel to catch its importance - he just wished he would have understood the other's reluctance before they had had to spell it out for him "Oh"

The demon tightened their arms around their legs, nails digging imperfect moons in their flesh as they turned away from the angel - ashamed to still be so affected by the Fall. Beelzebub hadn't intentionally taken the jump, nor they bragged about having sauntered their way to Hell like Crowley did - they had been pushed, brutal and simple; they had struggled, begged for forgiveness, pleaded for their life as they knew it...

It had all been for nothing. 

Gabriel mirrored the other's pose, more to try and connect with them rather than communicate closure - that was how it worked, wasn't it? He wasn't sure, humans had aquired such strange behaviours and so diverse too! It was impossible to keep them straight "Look-" Gabriel turned around in his head what he wanted to say, realised it might have sounded a tad insensitive and reworked the sentence "I don't understand - I was going to say I do but I don't"

"Damn straight you don't" Beelzebub sniffed, their gaze zipping up to Gabriel's face and away - evasive, not wanting to look vulnerable.

"But-"

"No buts"

" _But_ , I would never leave your hand during the jump"

  
"That's sickeningly sweet"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment"

"Of fucking course you do" they hated it: they hated his confidence; they hated his understanding; they hated his... kindness.

It made them feel weaker.

And while they knew that the archangel wouldn't exploit that weakness, Beelzebub wouldn't stand for it; they smacked Gabriel's arm hard as they stood up, before they balled up their hands at their hips and matched towards the edge of the cliff "Come on"

"Bub..."

"Come on"

Gabriel immediately recognised the tense stubbornness in the other's voice, very well aware of the fact that he wouldn't be able to persuade Beelzebub that they didn't need to prove anything - not to him. Gabriel easily pushed himself up and followed the demon prince "Will you let me hold your hand at least?"

"I'll dismember you if you don't" Beelzebub hissed, grabbing aggressively the already proffered fingers before they gave Gabriel's hand a strong tug, unbalancing him - forcing him to fall like they had Fallen.

Except that the bastard had been right: somehow, with the weight of the other's hand in their own, it felt more like flying rather than falling.

They slipped into the waves, the crash of their bodies against the water insignificant compared to the thundering song of the sea. 

**Author's Note:**

> I seem to be unable to write these two anywhere that isn't a beach (I miss going to the beach, that's why)


End file.
